The Lion and The Unicorn - Characters
Prince (later King) Jonathan of the Rose Son of King Richard and grandson of Queen Eleanor. Assumed the throne upon the death of his father (mid-way through the prologue). Initially presented as something of a callow youth, Jonathan is determined to prove his worth as king by freeing his nation from the scourge of patch-crime. The House of the Rose Queen Eleanor of the Rose (abdicated) Queen Eleanor of the House of the Rose ruled Albion during the great war against "The Dictator", which ravaged the kingdom prior to the events of the main story. She abdicated shortly after the war, allowing her son, Richard, to ascend the throne. She also commissioned the formation of the Britomart Corporation, granted it powers of state, and tasked it with the rebuilding of post-war Albion. King Richard of the Rose Son of Queen Eleanor, father of Prince Jonathan, and reigning monarch at the outset of the prologue. While his mother is portrayed as a monarch of the people and bulwark of her nation, Richard appears to be a much more weak and distant king. It is believed that his inaction ("stoicism" as he puts it) is what has allowed the power of the monarchy to wane in the face of the increasingly popular and powerful Britomart Corporation. At the beginning of the prologue, King Richard is on his deathbed with an unknown illness, but dies from poisoning at the hands of Malkolm of the Raven, leaving the kingdom in the care of his son, Jonathan. Prince (later King) Jonathan of the Rose Son of King Richard and grandson of Queen Eleanor. Assumed the throne upon the death of his father (mid-way through the prologue). Initially presented as something of a callow youth, Jonathan is determined to prove his worth as king by freeing his nation from the scourge of patch-crime. The Royal Court The Royal Court is made up of all the Royal houses of the old 'Kingdoms of The Isles' Once individual monarchical states now united as the Kingdom of Albion. The Royal houses include The Red Dragon of Chymru, The White Lion of Erin, The Griffin of Mercia and The Unicorn of Alba. Malkolm the Raven Weaselly, Machiavellian fop, and chamberlain in the service of the House of the Rose, Malkolm Weiko of the House of the Raven is directly responsible for the murder of King Richard by poison. It is known that he also works for the Britomart corporation as their "man inside the palace", though it is unclear if he killed the King in this capacity. It is also not yet clear whether he is a Britomart employee, or merely their stooge. He represents the most out and out villain of the piece. The character the audience can instantly dislike, boo at, and applaud if or when he dies. The Yeo Guard The Yeo Guard are the official royal bodyguard for the Monarchy. Their base of operations is the White Tower. At times of war the Yeo Guard also act as an elite division of the armed forces. Defenders of the Realm An ancient order of royal protectors; "Knights of the crown, defenders of the realm, keepers of the King's peace". The order was deemed defunct with the exile of Lord Lion II after Queen Dalili's death. The Lion (Lord Lion II) Son of Lion I, the Royal engineer and co-founder of Techgnosis. A hero of the Great War and former royal bodyguard The Lion is famously impervious to psychic attack, and physically nigh on indestructible. Lord Lion was exiled by King Richard for his involvement in the death of Richard's queen Dalili. Rumors of an affair between Lion and Dalili had been circulated in the tabloid press but very Little is known of the exact details of this incident other than that it seems to have been the defining moment in the lives of both Richard, Jonathan and The Lion. The Lion's reinstatement by Jonathan at the end of the prequel series may provide him with his last chance to redeem himself and prove his worth to his nation once more. The Lion represents the 'broken ego' of the story. He is fiery and masculine. He is also the one with the most interesting back story and the best lines in the story and is the most popular character (as voted for by members of the CityOfThamesis.com forum) The Unicorn (Vanessa Blanchflower) Growing up in the Northern Fifedom of Alba, her natural psychic ability was spotted at an early age. Given a scholarship to one of the best Britomart academies in the Kingdom she then started training to join the Yeo Guard PSYOPS division at the New Royal Academy (set up by the Britomart and the Crown). Here she caught the eye of the then Prince Jonathan. Despite being top of her class she was shocked to find herself sanctioned for active duty in the Yeo Guard as the King's personal protector. The Unicorn represents the cool feminine aspect, she is light and magical. She is the antithesis of The K.I.D.'s character but is similar to him in seemingly not yet having found her own voice yet (she was voted the least popular character in the members forum). The Britomart Corporation The Britomart Corporation's "Do Right' mentality is founded in the principles of Transhumanism. The core belief is that people can use Brand Technology to transcend the limitations of their mind & bodies and become "Homo Illuminatus". Citizens are appraised on characteristics such as health, physical beauty, manual dexterity, athletic ability, intelligence and general psychic ability. Britomart is represented in the prequel series and web site as a New age, technology and lifestyle-centric multinational; One part Scientology, one part Apple Mac, one part Virgin Group. They are faceless and amorphous, they are the 'they', the authority and 'anti-ego' of the story. Doctor Gwydion Jones Commissioned by Queen Eleanor to head the Corporation at its creation, immediately after the war. He is so far the only individual within the Britomart Corporation to be mentioned by name. Technopractors and the Pirate Patch Culture Kendrick Garvey Kendrick is a distributor of so-called "Pirate Patches", operating from The Compound in the North Ward of Thamesis. Dishonourably discharged from the Yeo Guard, he is now reputed to produce the strongest patches in Thamesis, and notorious for his ruthlessness. Kendrick is the second most overtly villainous character in the piece, yet his stature and style make him less instantly dislikable than Malkolm. The K.I.D, TK (Tyler K. Watts) TK is a patch runner, sigil maker (tagger), and general rude boy, originating from The Arch Way (Archway), in the North Ward. He currently spends most of his time skipping the Crown funded school (rather than Britomart academy)to serve in the employ of Kendrick Garvey, who pays him in high-grade patch to deliver his product to all parts of Thamesis. He distributes these spoils amongst his Clan (gang) The S.S.G. for them to in the semi organised, highly dangerous street game of patch jousting. TK represents the ego of the story, he is rebellious, anti-hero untamed by and indifferent to either ruling faction. He is so far one of the least developed characters. Whilst having a decent amount of screen time he perhaps has not quite yet found his voice and come into his own. The Clans of Thamesis and Albion Thamesis is not the only urban metropolis in the Isles of Albion, and while it has the worst patch crime problem other cities have their fair share of clan related violence too. Top Clans of Albion include The A.S.B.O. (The Anti Social Behaviour Order) - City of Breme, Fifedom of Mercia Black Rose - City of Thamesis, North Ward Common Boys - City of Thamesis, South Ward Daughters of Albion - Tor Town, Fifedom of Domonia The Firm - City of Thamesis, East Ward Levellers - Bright Town, Fifedom of Domonia. Picts - Stirlin City, Fifedom of Alba. Tuatha De Danann - Ceide Fields, Fifedom of Eirean